COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Former Colorado State volleyball standout Danielle Minch added another prestigious recognition to her sterling résumé on Thursday when she was announced as the Mountain West Female Athlete of the Year.

The nod is the latest in a series of outstanding accomplishments for Minch who was named the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame’s 2010 College Female Athlete of the Year after leading the Rams to their eighth MW regular-season title, a 26-5 overall record, and the program’s 16th consecutive NCAA women’s volleyball tournament appearance in her senior season. The Sterling, Colo., native earned MW Player of the Year honors for the second straight season in 2010, leading the league in points per set (4.58) and ranking third in kills per set (3.73) in conference-only matches. Overall, she was fifth in the Mountain West in kills (3.35) and second in points per set (4.07), while tallying double-digit kills in 22 matches. She also joined an elite club by eclipsing 1,000 kills throughout her career. In addition to earning All-American honors from Volleyball Magazine (third team) and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (honorable mention) last season, Minch was named to the AVCA all-West region team.

“I’m just really proud of her,” Head Coach Tom Hilbert said. “Danielle went through a huge growth process at CSU. To have a kid from a small town like Sterling become the Mountain West Female Athlete of the Year is a great honor. I’m just really proud of Danielle and her accomplishments.”

Established by the Mountain West Joint Council in May 2010, the MW Athlete of the Year Awards are bestowed annually to one male and one female student-athlete who have achieved athletic excellence during the past academic year. In addition to superior athletic achievement, criterion for the MW Athlete of the Year Award requires that nominees be in good academic standing throughout their season of competition, and demonstrate good character and conduct on and off the playing field.

BYU’s Jimmer Fredette, college basketball’s consensus player of the year in 2011, was honored as the league’s top male athlete.

“I was really excited when I heard about it,” Minch said. “It’s an honor and cool to be up there with someone like Jimmer Fredette. It’s an exciting honor and special to represent CSU volleyball in this way.”

Earlier this month, Minch was named as theVirginia K. Frank award-winner, given annually to CSU’s most outstanding female athlete. The English major will complete her final semester this fall and is expected to graduate in December. In her four seasons with the Rams, Minch amassed 96 wins, three conference championships and four berths to the NCAA tournament, advancing to the Sweet Sixteen in 2009.